Grilled pork chops, skillet clams and corn, fast panna cotta, and more weeknight recipes for the dog days of summer.

Late summer is all about maximizing those lingering warm nights outside and minimizing time spent in the kitchen. Thankfully the current abundance of fresh produce—corn! tomatoes! plums!—makes it easy to get dinner on the table in record time. Here are five recipes that celebrate the height of the late summer season.

Who says clam sauce is only good for pasta? Not this buttery corn-studded dish. You might notice we don’t ask you to season the sauce in this recipe. It’s intentional: All that clam liquid is plenty salty.

Step one: Crisp bacon. Step two: Turn bacon fat into an addictive warm vinaigrette. Boom. Cooks' Notes: We love how the warm dressing clings to tangles of frisée in this Cobb salad recipe, but any crunchy lettuce like romaine or endive would be great. Choose tomatoes that feel heavy for their size. As long as they’re ripe, any type will work. And streaming oil into the already-fatty bacon mixture might cause the vinaigrette to break, but don’t fret! It’ll still be totally delicious.

Bring all your ingredients out to the grill on a baking sheet for easy cleanup later. If you like feta, you should get to know Halloumi, a Cypriot cheese sold at Greek markets, specialty food stores, and some supermarkets. Smooth, oiled grill grates will keep the cheese from sticking. And keep a close eye on the plums as they cook; you want them to be soft and just slightly jammy, not mushy.

Consider this salad more supporting evidence that, yes, you need a mandoline in your life. The shaved cucumber and melon will release some liquid and lose a bit of crunch after they’re dressed, so toss everything together just before serving. If you’re truly averse to turning on your oven right now, buy roasted pistachios.

Treat this spoonable dessert as a vehicle for piles of your favorite peak-season fruit. Swap out nectarines for plums, peaches, cherries, or blackberries. Using a food processor makes the ricotta ultra smooth and airy.